Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy has confirmed the discovery of substantial natural gas deposits in the villages of Mnyundo and Mpapura, situated within the Mtwara region—approximately 500 kilometres south of Dar es Salaam. The announcement, made on Thursday by the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, James Mataragio, marks a renewed phase in the country’s ongoing exploration of the Lindi-Mtwara Block, a 736-square-kilometre area encompassing 48 villages across the Mtwara and Mtama district councils.
Preliminary analyses indicate the presence of promising gas reserves after natural gas was found seeping through water wells in the area. According to Mataragio, previous seismic data suggest a 32 per cent probability of gas presence within the block, supporting the case for increased exploratory drilling and investment in Tanzania’s energy infrastructure.
“The government is accelerating exploration activities in response to the growing demand for natural gas across the industrial, domestic and transportation sectors,” Mataragio said, emphasising the initiative’s alignment with Tanzania’s Development Vision 2050.
(Government of Tanzania Development Vision 2050)
The project currently involves the drilling of three wells, two of which are projected to yield an additional 45 million cubic feet of gas per day, while the third will serve a research and evaluation role to enhance understanding of the broader geological potential within the block.
Official statistics from the Ministry of Energy estimate Tanzania’s total natural gas reserves at approximately 57.54 trillion cubic feet, with 49 trillion cubic feet located offshore. The majority of these offshore reserves are found in fields managed in collaboration with international energy firms operating under production-sharing agreements.
The discovery adds a critical dimension to Tanzania’s long-term energy strategy, which seeks to balance domestic energy needs, industrialisation goals, and export ambitions. It further complements regional efforts across East and Southern Africa to expand natural gas utilisation as part of a low-carbon industrial transition, with potential benefits for cross-border trade and energy security within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) framework.
From a pan-African perspective, the find reflects the continent’s growing capacity to harness indigenous resources through state-led exploration, technological advancement, and regional cooperation. It also reaffirms Africa’s agency in defining its own development trajectory—where resource discoveries are increasingly viewed not as isolated economic events but as opportunities for inclusive growth, local capacity-building, and regional integration.
Tanzania’s latest find in Mtwara continues a broader narrative of African nations repositioning themselves within the global energy transition by leveraging natural gas as a transitional fuel that bridges the path between fossil dependence and renewable innovation.
As exploration continues, the government has reiterated its commitment to transparency, environmental responsibility, and equitable resource management to ensure that local communities benefit directly from the sector’s expansion. The new gas discovery may thus represent not only an economic opportunity but also a step toward achieving energy sovereignty and sustainable industrial transformation across the African continent.
